Seahawks fans like myself are still processing what happened in the final 30 seconds of the Super Bowl last night. The team hung like bulldogs with the Patriots in the first half, endured dancing sharks at halftime, and then took a 10 point lead in the third quarter. It sure looked like a another Seahawks victory over a future Hall of Fame QB and the first repeat Super Bowl Champion in the last decade.

But Tom Brady showed the nation why he is an elite QB in the 4th quarter. When the Patriots took the lead again after two long drives under his crisp and decisive passing, our spirits were deflated with only a couple of minutes left in the game.

Our hopes were once again boosted by Jermaine Kearse’s juggling catch on his back. With less than 30 seconds to go and the ball on the 1-yard line on 2nd down, a rushing TD by Beastmode was all but a given. I was ready to celebrate another roller coaster Seahawks win with our 30 Super Bowl party guests. But no mini-earthquakes occurred in Seattle last night. When the Patriots intercepted the ball on the incredulous pass play to Lockette, all energy and hope was suddenly and totally deflated.

Without a doubt, the Seahawks lost due to poor play calling at the end but they also had their chances to stop the Patriots offense in the final quarter but simply didn’t. Fans and analysts will continue to criticize the play call for months and even years to come but there’s little benefit to dwelling on what could or should have happened.

February in the Northwest is rainy and dreary with limited outdoor distractions. The Super Bowl loss will add to the normal gloom. But I’m grateful for the Seahawks exciting and dramatic run to get to their consecutive Super Bowl this season. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a long seven months until the next run.

The 12th Man has been ubiquitous in the Seattle area for the past couple of weeks. People of all shapes and sizes in Seahawks jerseys, cars driving around with flapping window flags, and office buildings lit up in proud blue and green. Seahawks fans are known to be some of the most passionate fans in the NFL and this fervor is rampant this week in anticipation of the big game this weekend.

The city and Washington State, typically a contrast in political and social viewpoints, has come together around the local football team. This place is as united as I’ve ever seen it. During the past two years, I’ve seen friends who’ve never watched football become rabid Seahawks fans. It’s amazing how a winner attracts a following.

The 12s are everywhere

Unlike many past Super Bowls, the matchup between the Seahawks and the Patriots is truly a toss-up. The best defense against the best offense. A young, newbie QB versus a future Hall of Famer. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Hopefully, things turn out like they did last year in New Jersey. Realistically, the Seahawks will need to play a lot better than they did against the Packers to win this one. It’s going to be a close one, perhaps down to the final drive. This may be the Super Bowl “for the Ages” as Coach Carroll says. Let’s Re-Pete!

After being shutout in the first half and trailing the Green Bay Packers 19-7 with about 4 minutes to go, many a 12th Man, including myself, were doubting the Seahawks were capable of staging such a historic comeback. It was perhaps the greatest playoff comeback victory I’ve seen in many years.

With 5 turnovers, including 4 interceptions against Wilson, I thought the Seahawks played their worst game in the Wilson era. But as bad as Russell Wilson and the offense was in the first half, the defense was just as good and kept them from being blown out at home. When the chips were all on the line, Wilson, once again, came through by driving the offense to two TDs in 44 seconds. And in OT, Wilson knew he couldn’t give Aaron Rogers a chance to win the game, so he fired a 35-yard touchdown to win the game on the first possession. I’ll never doubt my home team again.

From an objective standpoint, the better team on Sunday didn’t win. If the Seahawks are going to repeat as Super Bowl champs in two weeks, they’ll need to play much better from start to finish against the Patriots. It’s going to be a great battle with New England in Arizona in two weeks; I’m hoping that the Seahawks won’t be giving me any reason to doubt them again.

For the second year in a row, the road to the NFC Championship and a berth at the next Super Bowl goes through Seattle thanks to a 20-6 win over the Rams. But the game was neither easy nor pretty.

Along with more than 68,000 fellow fans, I was confident of a Seahawks win today but that confidence was tested with each Seattle turnover. Held scoreless in the first half, the Seahawks’ offense was as chilly as December in Seattle. But the defense came through once again in the second half with some game changing plays by two of my favorite players, Earl Thomas and Bobby Wagner.

Possessing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Seahawks are now well positioned for an extended run to another Super Bowl. As was the case last year, I’m expecting to see the 12th Man on full display in the streets for the next several weeks. I’m just hoping it’ll last through the first week in February!

Although the oddsmakers spotted the Cardinals eight points versus the Seahawks tonight, I wasn’t confident that it would be a sure game for Seattle. I thought they would win only by a field goal or two but they ended up stomping the Cardinals 35-6! In fact, Seattle gained 596 yards tonight, a franchise record.

I must admit that I was a little nervous during the first half when the Seahawks had multiple chances to build on their lead but they didn’t hit any of their three field goal attempts. But any hope that the Cardinals would pull out a big comeback quickly evaporated with the Beasts’ magnificent 79-yard touchdown run.

Barring a couple of highly unlikely scenarios next week, the Seahawks would get the #1 seed and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs if they beat the Rams. The last time they did that, they won a pretty big, shiny trophy.

I’m looking forward to taking my son to the Seahawks-Rams game next Sunday. Hopefully, we’ll see the same Seattle team that showed up big time in Arizona this evening. It’s going to be loud to say the least.

The Seahawks piggy bank that HomeStreet Bank is giving away free to Seahawks ticket holders is coming at just the right time. The 12th Man has been saving some extra mojo since the beginning of the season for a rainy day (which is almost every day between November and May). It’s been do-or-die time in recent weeks so it’s time to break the bank. Pete Carroll recently cracked open the team’s piggy bank to unleash the pent-up #1 dominant defense from last season.

In the last three games, the Seahawks D has come through big time, holding the Cardinals, 49ers and Eagles to an average of 169 yards of offense and 6.7 points per game! Three games ago, the Seahawks had the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL, so I thought that they would at best slide into a wild card playoff slot. Now, with 3 wins behind them, there’s a real possibility that they can win the NFC West by sweeping their last 3 games. That’s going to be a huge task but I’m betting the bank on another NFC West title.

It was quite a Thanksgiving Day this year. We went to a neighbor’s house for a Thanksgiving feast that did not disappoint in many ways–great company, great food, and great outcomes. Spending Thanksgiving with 20 family members and friends was just about right. Just enough people to get that homey feeling of a large family gathering but not so many guests as to make you feel overwhelmed.

The food was fantastic! Starting off the pregame feast, the spicy jumbo grilled shrimp were outstanding; each bite was succulent and tangy. Other appetizers included smoked salmon, salmon ceviche, mini pigs (piglets?) in a blanket, and cheese and crackers. I could hardly eat anymore after indulging in the delicious starters, but I found the will to tackle the main courses.

In addition to the standard roast turkey and mashed potatoes, we enjoyed honey ham, salad, green beans with black beans, and sweet potato fries. We then waited until halftime of the Seahawks game when we kicked off desert with homemade apple pie with ice cream, apple crisp, white chocolate grapefruit pie, and raspberry covered chocolate cake. I should have punted after the apple pie but I just couldn’t resist and take a knee. I ended up eating three deserts. I should have been flagged and penalized a 10 mile run right then and there but it was not called because all the refs were pigging out too!

Of course, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving day without football. The special treat this year for Seattle fans was the Seahawks – 49ers game, the last game of the triple header. The 12th Man in Seattle was very anxious before the game since we need that the loser would probably be knocked out of playoff contention. I was hoping that the Seahawks would figure out a way to kick a field goal to win it at the last minute in a tight, low scoring battle. Most of the football pundits also thought it would be a close game but most of them were betting on the 49ers to win at home. Little did they know…

What a game it was (especially on a 80 inch TV)! The Seahawks totally dominated the 49ers defensively holding San Francisco to 164 total yards of offense. It wasn’t close. Yes, Seattle could have been more productive in the red zone but they only needed one touchdown to win this game. The 12th Man hasn’t been as optimistic about the Seahawks making the playoffs since the first game of the season against the Packers. With games against the Eagles, 49ers, Cardinals and Rams remaining, the road to a playoff spot is still riddled with powerful land mines, but I can see the faint light at the end of the tunnel and it looks bright.

Despite the final score, it was quite a nerve-racking game at CenturyLink this Sunday. It was do-or-die time for the Seahawks against the Cardinals, who came into Seattle as the NFL’s top team at 9-1. When the Seahawks failed to convert a touchdown on their first few trips to the red zone, I got a sinking feeling that the Cardinals would ultimately rally back in the second half. But, alas, the Seahawks suffocating defense from their Super Bowl season showed up on Sunday and the Cardinals would go home to Arizona with a single field goal! With a better QB than Drew Stanton though, the Cardinals could have fared much better.

Just the day before the game, the forecast called for rain and winds up to 20 mph in Seattle. Instead, we had temps in the 50s and sunny skies at the game! Perhaps it’s an omen for a stellar season finish for the Seahawks?

With remaining games against the 49ers (twice), Cardinals, Eagles and Rams, the Seahawks have the NFL’s toughest remaining schedule. They will need to win at least 3 more games to have a decent shot at one of the wildcard spots.

The first test for the Seahawks will be Thanksgiving Day at the 49ers. It will be a close game and I’m hoping I won’t get indigestion while watching it.

After the Seahawks romp over the Green Bay Packers in the opening game of the 2014 NFL season, the 12th Man was expecting another run to the Super Bowl in 2015. Perhaps Seattleites should expect to play Denver again in the “Weed Bowl” rather than the Super Bowl this year?

Since the dominating performance over the Packers in early September, the Seahawks have not resembled last year’s championship team by any measure. The Seahawks pass rush has struggled this year and, as a result, interceptions and forced turnovers have taken a nose-dive. The running game has not been consistent and receivers can’t separate and make big plays. The Hawks special teams, a shining star last year, lost the Rams game when they were fooled by a couple of trick plays that resulted in touchdowns.

At 4-3, the Seahawks are still in contention for the playoffs but, given they are in the toughest division in the NFL, a run for the Super Bowl doesn’t seem likely this year. I’m guessing that they will need at least a 10-6 record to make the playoffs this year. Given they still have two games against the Cardinals and 49ers, and an away game at the Eagles, the odds of reaching 10 wins are not good. Meanwhile, the 6-1 Broncos, sporting a much improved defense, look unstoppable and appear poised to win it all. But, the parity-focused NFL, is unpredictable and anything is possible. At least this Seahawks fan hopes so.

I pulled my kids out of school a little early today to attend the very first Seahawks Super Bowl victory parade in downtown Seattle. As I drove, I sensed that there would be a huge crowd today when, many miles away from our destination, we started seeing fans walking downtown. Needless to say, traffic was a nightmare as it took three times as long as usual to drive downtown.

With an estimated crowd of 700,000 people, this is the largest gathering I have ever seen in Seattle. As we walked toward CenturyLink stadium, it was quite amazing to see the wide mix of people coming out to see the team parade from downtown to the stadium. The 12th Man was represented by people from a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Certainly a lot more families with younger kids came out than you usually see at a Seahawks game.

The fans were loud and boisterous as usual at the CenturyLink victory celebration at the end of the parade. Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson and others told an elated 12th Man that 2014 would be the first of other Super Bowls to come. With such a young and deep roster, the talk of a football dynasty in the Northwest is totally within reason.

With the Super Bowl over and a long seven months until the first regular season game, people in Washington State will need to fill up their free time with other interests. Luckily there’s plenty to enjoy during the spring and summer here in the Pacific Northwest. After several months of sitting in front of the TV on Sundays, I’m looking forward to getting outside again.